Catch.



F. n. LEW-IS.

CATCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29. 1914.

Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

WU Q U 2 l/VVE/VTOH $2M; A9. KW

5) 49 ar'- My w A TTOR/VEYS NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK I). LEWIS, WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NEW JERSEY PATENT COMPANY, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

Application filed May 29, 1914. Serial No. 841,717.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK D. Lnwrs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of West Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Catches, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to catches and more particularly to the so called stay arm catches employed to hold the cover of a cabinet, such as a phonograph or talking machine cabinet, in open position. The principal object of my invention is to provide an improved catch which may be automatically moved into operative 0r inoperative position by movement of the cover or its equivalent part. Other objects of my invention will appear more fully in the following specification and appended claims.

In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, attention is hereby di rected to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which- Figure 1 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation showing a phonograph or talking machine cabinet embodying one form of my invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are fragmentary perspective views of portions of the same; and

Fig. 1 is a top plan view partly in section of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

In all the views, like parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a talking machine or phonograph cabinet comprising a body portion 1 and a cover 2 hinged to the body portion, as shown at 3, for movement about a fixed horizontal axis. The cover 2 has a bracket 4: secured thereto, as by screws 5 and 6, this bracket having a depending portion 7 to which a stay arm or rod 8 is pivoted, as at 9. The lower extremity of the arm 8 has a portion 10 arranged substantially at right angles to the rest of the said arm, the portion 10 being adapted to rest in a curved seat 11 formed in a supporting bracket or guide 12 to maintain the stay arm in such position as to hold the cover open. The position of the parts when the cover is held open by the arm 8 is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The bracket 12 is formed at its lateral extremities with parallel flanges or plates 13 and 14, and is held in position on one of the inner side walls of the body portion 1 of the cabinet, as by screws 15 and 16 passing through the flange 13 and a screw 17 passing through the flange 14:. The flange 14: is held spaced from the wall of the cabinet,as by a tubular member 18 surrounding the screw 17 and formed of rubber, metal or other suitable material. The distance between the flange 14: and the adjacent wall of the cabinet should be suflicient to provide a vertically extending opening to permit free lateral swinging of the arm 8 about the pivot 9. Intermediate the flanges 13 and 14;, the bracket 12 is formed with a box-like portion having a side wall 19 extending inwardly of the cabinet at right angles to the flange 1 1, a frontwall 20 extending from the wall projection, plate or flange 21 arranged below The and in the plane of the flange 14:. lower portion of the projection 21 is formed with a cam edge 22 curving upwardly and to the left, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, and

the flange 14: is provided with an edge 23 inclined upwardly and to the right, referring to the same figures. Between the edges 22'and 23 .there is formed an upwardly and inwardly tapering passage or ingress opening 24 by which the projection 10 is guided or directed toward operative position when the cover is opened. The pivot 9 and the bracket 12 are preferably so arranged that when the arm 8 first engages said bracket in the upward movement of the cover, it occupies a vertical position and the projection 10 engages the lower edge of the projection 21 at a point near the right hand extremity of the latter, referring to Figs. 1 and 2. The position of the axis of the rod or arm 8 when the latter first engages the bracket 12 is shown by the dot and dash line a, b in toward the right when the projection 10 is.

suficiently high to pass over the upper outer portion 25 of the projection 21. The tendency of the arm or rod 8 to move by gravity to ayertical position now causes the lower portlon of the same to swing toward the rlght about the pivot 9 until further movement thereof toward a vertical position is prevented. by the wall 19. In practice, the cover 2 is raised until the projection 10 becomes located in the socket or recess 26 formed in the lower edge of the flange 14. After this, the cover is let down a slight extent, whereupon the projection 10 moves by gravity below the recess 26 over into the seat 11, as shown in Fig. 2, the parts being held by gravity in the positions thus assumed and the cover being in an open position. To close the cover, the same is raised to a slight extent thus causing a further movement of the pivot 9 toward the right, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, while the lower end of the arm or red 8 is held against movement in the same direction by reason of the engagementof the projection 10 with the wall 19 until the said pfr'ojection is ready topass through the egress opening 27 formed in said wall. When this happens, the rod or arm 8 swings by gravity about pivot 9 toward a vertical position thereby causing the projection 10 to enter the boxlike portion of the bracket 12. As the latter is open at the'bottom, the arm or red 8 and the cover may now be lowered without hindrance from the bracket 12. In practice when it is desired to close the cover, the latter is lifted from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 until the projection 10 is brought into engagement with a lip or tongue 28 extending from the wall 20 toward the inner wall of the cabinet, as

shown in Fig. 3 and at c, d Fig. 1, after whichthe cover is let down into closed position. The lip or tongue 28 is spaced a slight distance from the adjacent wall of the cabinet so as not to interfere with the lateral movement of the arm or projection 8. A projection 29 extending downwardly from the flange 14 provides one of the side walls of the recess 26' and tends to prevent the swinging of the projection 10 into the opening 27 when the cover is opened and before the same has been let down to cause the projection 10 to be engaged in the seat 11.

The bracket or support 12, as shown, may be readily and cheaply manufactured of a single piece of sheet metal. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the spacing member 18 forms a support or guide for the arm 8 when the cover is closed and du "ing a portion of the upward movement of the said arm and that the wall 30 of the boxlike portion of the bracket serves as a support or guide for the said arm during a portion of the downward movement of the latter. The member 18 and the wall 30, as

"shown also serve as limiting means for the lateral movement of said arm.

My invention is not limited to the exact details shown, and many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

hat I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. The combination with a. cabinet comprising a body portion and a cover thereon movable about a horizontal axis, of a bracket secured to the body portion, providing a vertically extending opening and comprising a vertically arranged flange having a guiding edge extending upwardly, then downwardly and from there upwardly and providing a downwardly extending projection and below the same a vertically arranged flange having a guiding edge spaced from and cooperating with said first mentioned edge and provided with a recess forming a seat substantially opposite and below said projection, said edges providing a passageway therebetween having an ingress opening at one side of said seat and an egress opening at the opposite side of said seat, and an arm pivoted to said cover, extending downwardly through and guided in said vertically extending opening and having its lower portion adapted to travel in and to be guided through said passageway and to be directed by said projection into said seat as the cover is raised and to swing by gravity out of and beyond said seat toward said egress opening as said cover is further raised, substantially as described.

The combination with a cabinet comprising a body portion and a cover movable about a horizontal axis, of a bracket secured to the body portion providing a. vertically extending opening and comprising a vertieally arranged flange having a guiding edge extending upwardly, then downwardly and from there upwardly and providing a downwardly extending projection and a vertically arranged flange spaced below said first mentioned flange and having a lower guiding edge directed toward said first mentioned edge and an upper edge spaced from and opposed to said first mentioned edge and provided with a recess forming a seat substantially opposite and below said projection, said edges providing a passageway therebetween having a tapering ingress opening at one side of said seat and an egress opening at the opposite side of said seat, an arm pivoted to said cover, extending downwardly through said vertically extending opening and having its lower portion adapted to travel in and to be guided through said passageway and to be directed by said projection into said seat as the cover is raised and to swing by gravity out of and beyond said seat toward said egress opening as said cover is further raised and means for limiting the last upward movement of said arm and guiding the same downwardly as the cover is closed, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a cabinet comprising a body portion and a cover thereon movable about a horizontal axis, of a bracket secured to a side of said body portion and comprising a boxlike portion having spaced walls arranged transversely to said side, a horizontal tongue at the top and an open bottom, one of said walls being provided with an opening, and a part arranged transversely to said wall with the opening and provided with a passageway merging with said opening, the lower edge of said passageway being provided with a seat and the upper edge thereof with a projection opposite said seat, and an arm pivoted to said cover and having means on its lower end adapted to travel in said passageway and to be di rected by said projection into said seat when the cover is raised and to swing by gravity out of and beyond said seat through said opening into the boxlike portion as the cover is further raised,the tongue of said boxlike portion preventing the undue raising of the cover and the walls thereof guiding the arm in its downward movement to close the cover, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a cabinet comprising a body portion and a cover thereon movable about a horizontal axis, of a bracket secured to said body portion and comprising a flange arranged parallel with the side of the cabinet, spaced therefromand terminating at one end in a boxlike portion having spaced connected walls extending inwardly transversely to the flange, provided with a closed top and having an open bottom, said flange having a guiding edge extending upwardly, then downwardly and from there upwardly to the adjacent wall of said boxlike portion and providing a downwardly extending projection, and a flange projecting from said adjacent wall, located below said first mentioned flange and having a guiding edge spaced from and cooperating with said first mentioned edge and provided with a recess forming a seat adjacent to said adjacent wall and substantially opposite and below said projection,- said edges providing a passageway therebetween having an ingress opening at one side of said seat and an egress opening in said adjacent wall at theopposite side of the seat, and an arm pivoted to said cover and extending down wardly between said body portion and said bracket and having its lower portion adapted to travel in and to be guided through said passageway and to be directed by said projection into said seat as the cover is raised and to swing by gravity out of and beyond said seat through said egress opening into the boxlike portion as the cover is further raised, the top of said boxlike portion preventing the undue raising of the cover and the walls thereof guiding the arm in its downward movement to close the cover, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 28th day of May 191 i.

FRANK D. LEWIS.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK BACHMANN, MARY J. LAIDLAW.

Copies of this Patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

